The Fisherman's Guide To Selling: Reel in the Sale - Hook, Line, and Sinker

The

Fisherman’s

Guide to

Selling

Reel in the Sale—Hook, Line, and Sinker

JOE DiMISA

Senior Vice-President and Principal, Sibson Consulting

Contents

Acknowledgments

Charting the Course

CHAPTER ONE

Identify What You’re Trying to Catch

Who Are You Trying to Sell To?

CHAPTER TWO

Select and Present the Right Bait

Present the Right Offering to Meet Your Customers’ Needs

CHAPTER THREE

Select and Use the Right Gear

Assemble the Right Sales Team and the Right Materials—Then Look and Act the Part

CHAPTER FOUR

Use Your Time Wisely to Learn Where the Fish Are Schooling!

Don’t Waste Time on the Nonessentials

CHAPTER FIVE

Chum the Water

Create Awareness for Your Product or Offering

CHAPTER SIX

Put Your Lines in the Water

Qualify Your Leads and Position Yourself to Meet Their Needs

CHAPTER SEVEN

Hook ’em and Reel ’em In

Navigate the Sales Process and Close the Deal

CHAPTER EIGHT

Catch Some More!

Manage the Account and Maximize Its Potential

CHAPTER NINE

Know When to Throw Some Back or Cut the Line

Is the Sale Worth Your Time and Effort?

CHAPTER TEN

Follow the Fisherman’s Code

Treat People Well and Always Be Ready to Extend a Hand

Back on the Dock

Glossary

About the Author

Acknowledgments

My special gratitude and regards to the many people that have inspired me over the years. Specifically, I would like to first thank my loving wife, Natalie DiMisa, who always provides balanced, objective feedback on all life and business issues. She is a loving mother of our two sons, William and Andrew, and a devoted wife. Without her guidance, nothing in my life would be possible.

Thanks to Bill Martin, my father-in-law (aka Tarpon Willie) who taught me many lifelong lessons and fishing tricks. His determination and tenacity inspire me each and every day to work hard and think of others. He has openly shared his fishing spots, techniques and business tips. His faith inspires us all.

From a professional point of view, I would like to acknowledge and give a special thanks to Mari Bernhagen for her help in clarifying my thoughts, words, and writing style. She helped me through the process and asked the tough questions when needed. Without her talented presence, guidance, and editing, this book could not have been written.

I would also like to salute the many people that I have worked with over the years who gave me the inspiration for this book. People such as Mark Donnolo, Kathy Ledford, and Bergin Penhart—all three are such talented people. Their feedback, thoughts, and coaching have influenced parts of this book. And to the many clients and/or organizations that I have worked with over the years: the opportunity to serve you, listen to your challenges, and provide solutions has helped take experiences and turn them into a book that will help others as I have been helped.

Lastly, I would like to offer this book as a tribute to my father, Joseph J. DiMisa, who passed away as I was writing it. He never had a chance to read even a single word of the book, but I know he is smiling down upon me.

Best regards to all!

Joe

Charting the Course

The only thing that matters is a happy customer.

—Top seller for three consecutive years at a business-to-business telecom company

As a younger man, I spent many a morning fishing with my father-in-law, nicknamed Tarpon Willie, a devoted husband, father, and angler. Tarpon Willie loves to fish for all species, but his favorite is tarpon, a fish common to the warm waters of Tampa Bay. (Hence his nickname.) Before I really understood the sport of fishing, we would head out almost every weekend in pursuit of a catch. After boating a few fish, I usually was ready to head home, satisfied with a couple of keepers. Tarpon Willie, on the other hand, continued to examine the tide charts, watch the currents, and try new baits. He truly was a master and extremely committed to his task. These traits made him successful in fishing and even more so in business.

Tarpon Willie taught me that the most successful anglers are those who are not satisfied with catching just a few fish. They want to catch their limit every time out and do it over a long period of time. The same is true of salespeople. We all have seen the folks who have one big month or quarter and then fade back into average. Those who are truly successful excel every month, year in and year out.

Admiring my father-in-law’s zeal for fishing and sales, I started to build both my fishing and relationship skills, all the while growing more and more passionate about catching more fish and providing the best possible products and services to my customers. It’s amazing how quickly this passion and quest for excellence correlates with success. It also is amazing how intoxicating it becomes to continually attempt to build relationships and provide value—especially when clients confirm your abilities by purchasing more.

Now, as an experienced saltwater angler and professional sales management consultant, I see strong parallels between fishing and selling. Whether you are landing a sport fish or closing a big deal, it takes a series of critical steps to maximize your opportunities and increase your chances for success.

The biggest fish, like the most sought-after sales prospects, are the most difficult and exciting to attract. But smaller, more frequent catches, like high-volume transactional sales, are just as important and gratifying. When reeling in fish of any size, the adrenaline rush can be compared to the euphoria of a prospect expressing interest in your product or service and entrusting you to fulfill his or her business needs.

Yet you can’t be too confident that a nibble will result in a catch. Rush a prospect, and you may lose your catch, whether it’s an impressive trophy fish or a million-dollar account. When the fish does take the bait, however, the mission isn’t complete until your quarry has been reeled in, the fishing leader has been touched, and the catch has been released unharmed.

Although the strategies used to catch different types of fish or customers vary, the process is the same. It involves planning, preparation, finding the right spot to fish, using the right bait and gear, chumming the water, throwing out some lines, and reeling in the fish (or customers).

In my consulting and sales career, I’ve been fortunate to observe many large Fortune 500 companies. I’ve seen winning sales techniques that distinguish top-performing sellers from B and C players. Many of my insights have come from the ride-along opportunities I’ve had to observe sales reps on the job. Even though I’ve been able to observe top salespeople for so long, I am always amazed that the most successful salespeople (that is, those in the top 5 to 10 percent of the reps in their company) possess similar traits, no matter their industry or the product they’re selling. They always want to improve and build stronger and deeper relationships with their customers.

So how do you apply fishing strategies to selling? What makes one fisherman or salesperson more likely to succeed than another? In an increasingly competitive marketplace, how can you get the edge that will help seal the deal and keep you at the pinnacle of the top-performer pyramid?

I hope this book answers these and other questions for you. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never fished before; whether you prefer fly-fishing, saltwater, or freshwater fishing; or whether you’re a fisherman or a fisherwoman. The concepts are simple and can be applied easily by anyone in the sales profession—which comprises about 15 percent of the U.S. work force, or an estimated 19 million people! In both fishing and sales, if you plan and are well organized, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

I offer this book as a how to guide for busy salespeople who want some hot tips in a hurry. I hope it increases your odds of landing more or bigger sales—and maybe even a couple of fish.

CHAPTER ONE

Identify What You’re Trying to Catch

WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO SELL TO?

It’s tough to catch tarpon in the winter. It’s a warm-water fish, so when the temperature plunges, tarpon move south into deeper waters. You can try for hours, but if the fish aren’t feeding—or worse, aren’t there— you’re wasting your time. The quietest boat, best tackle, or freshest bait will do you no good. As Tarpon Willie, my salty ol’ father-in-law, says, If they ain’t biting, they ain’t biting. An experienced fisherman, Tarpon Willie knows in winter to set his sights on fish that run and bite in cold water, such as trout, redfish, or bass. As an equally astute businessman, he has long applied his wisdom and skill in sport fishing to the business arena—with stellar results.

CAPTAIN’S LOG

"Don’t go out and say you’re going to catch ‘a fish.’ Instead, name your catch—bass, tuna, snapper, bluefish. The more specific you are, the more you’ll eat for dinner."—Tarpon Willie

I remember my first fishing trip with Tarpon Willie. I was determined to catch a great fish. My preference was snook— a sleek gray fish accented down the side with a flashy black strip. An elusive prey, it makes quite a commotion when hooked. I’ve seen a hooked snook pop its tail at the line and run toward a submerged structure in hopes of breaking free. It’s a true sport fish that transcends just the sport alone; it’s also a great eating fish. I was so sure of my target, I’d already told my buddies what I was having for dinner.

When I told Tarpon Willie my dinner plans and asked where we could catch a large snook, he had a simple answer— Costa Rica.

With those two words, I learned my first fishing lesson: know what you want to catch, but make sure it’s realistic and catchable. Snook at that time of year were out of season. Our boat could have been seized if we’d harvested one. Tarpon Willie knew this; I did not. I learn quickly, though.

Since that early lesson, I’ve been fishing more or less successfully for fifteen years. In that same time, I’ve been building my career in sales, sales management, and sales effectiveness consulting. With no offense meant toward my sales customers over the years, I’ve learned that fish and customers have a lot in common. Just as certain fish are active in different seasons, customers vary their buying patterns throughout the month, the quarter, or the year. A sport fisherman has to know the water, know the fish, and chart a winning strategy. Similarly, to be successful in sales, you must understand the market and the customer, and tailor your sales approach accordingly. Knowing what to catch, when, and how—whether in fishing or in sales—brings home the trophy.

As a sales representative, your goal is to land customers. You’ll maximize your chances when you do your homework and are fully prepared. That means finding out everything you can about the customers’ business: what they’re buying, when they’re buying, what their fiscal year is, who has buying authority. You have to know your customers better than they know themselves.

THIS AIN’T NO FISH TALE!

One of my recent client engagements involved studying productivity levels of direct sales reps for a Fortune 500 company. We found that average performers stuffed their nets with unqualified prospects and then couldn’t find adequate time for any of them. They lost more sales than they won. Low performers didn’t spend enough time qualifying or closing. They squandered time in administrative tasks that could have been delegated or skipped. In contrast, the top 10 percent of highest performers and highest earners did a better job of identifying their prime targets and plotting effective ways to reach them. These reps spent little time with unqualified prospects. Instead, they used their time effectively. When they had the right prospect on the line, they devoted time and energy to tailor their sales approach to meet the prospect’s needs.

Learn from Top Performers

In sales, acquiring a base of knowledge about your customer involves identifying and qualifying those customers. Identifying and qualifying are the first two steps in the sales process (see The Five Steps in the Sales Process Tackle Box) and, possibly, the most important. So how can you apply the top performers’ strategy to qualify your catch? Follow these steps:

1.Scope out the customers for your products or services. You’ve got to have a firm handle on the sales potential for your product or offer.

2.Gain leverage by grouping accounts by common characteristics—type, size, style, issues, needs, and so on. This will enable you to identify commonalities and, ultimately, speed up your sales process. You can apply your understanding of customers across the group and focus on providing value to your customers.

3.Qualify each prospect, making sure you have the right BAIT (more on that later) to make a sale.

4.Focus your approach. Different accounts require different strategies. You want to apply the best strategy to get the sale.

Scope Out Your Customers

How well do you know your customers? Lack the knowledge, and you’ll likely miss the sale. Just as a successful fisherman knows the waters and knows the fish, top sales reps consistently seek out information about their customers to bolster their ability to make the sale. The more you know about your prospects, the better you can make the case for your product or service, showing the customers how it meets their needs.

This is less about marketing and more about gathering all the correct customer information before making contact or responding to a request. Your marketing organization usually will furnish a wealth of information about prospects. Your job is to boil that down into tactical knowledge about each account. Make sure you understand an account’s basic needs or the current situation the customer is experiencing.

Gathering this information can be as easy as searching the Web or making a few phone calls:

Review the customer’s Web site prior to contact. Look at press releases, management structure, about us links, and product and service offerings. A company’s Web site can give you a good idea of its history and where it is headed. Don’t stop there; go to competitors’ Web sites too. Find out if the com- petitors are doing something your prospect is not. Use this information in your conversations.

Assemble company collateral. It can be relatively easy to gather product information, brochures, and marketing materials about a company. If it’s not easily available, ask for it. Most companies furnish this material willingly and promptly. If you don’t want to tip off the company about your research, call another division and ask an administrative assistant to send you the material.

       Tackle Box

THE FIVE STEPS IN THE SALES PROCESS

1. Identify who your potential customers are and why they might want to buy your products or services. This step is about targeting your prospects.

2. Qualify your identified customers—determine whether they need your product or service and whether that need is worth pursuing.

3. Propose your solution to your qualified customers. You may submit a proposal in writing or present it in a meeting, explaining how your product or service will help the customer. Once you reach the proposal stage, your odds of making the catch greatly increase.

4. Close the sale by negotiating the final details and terms of the deal. This is the confirmation step, which all reps hope to reach.

5. Fulfill your commitment and continue to add value for your customer as you and your company deliver your solution. Don’t hand off fulfillment until you know your sale is safe. Stay involved at a high level to make sure customer needs are being met. If this step is botched, so is your reputation and any hope of future sales.

Want to learn more about the sales process? Chapter 7 includes tips on how to best execute each step.

Talk to customer alumni. Depending upon your prospect’s size, the company alumni network may be quite strong. Former employees can provide great detail about how an organization thinks and acts. If former employees are not available, talk to customers or even current employees. Be open about the kind of information you’re seeking and the reason for your pursuit. Your objective is to match your product to the company’s needs.

Search the Web for any interesting stories or valuable market information. You’ll be amazed at what you can find and piece together. A thorough search can give you a broader perspective of the company and alert